


The Heart of Malice - 3 Sentence Ficlets

by SincerelySerotonin



Series: The Legend of Zelda: The Heart of Malice [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, au is basically malice corrupts things like a zombie or a parasite, currently does not, may or may not include smut, rated for violence/triggering depictions of mental illnesses/suicidal idealization, takes place at no particular point in the timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincerelySerotonin/pseuds/SincerelySerotonin
Summary: Three sentence ficlets for my Zelda AU I'm playing around with with my husband. Takes place in a world where the kingdom has fallen to Malice that takes over lives more like a parasite or zombie, corrupting the host to serve said Malice alone.Warning: dark themes ahead!
Relationships: Robbie/Zelda
Series: The Legend of Zelda: The Heart of Malice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132292
Kudos: 2





	1. "You were supposed to leave."

It was not unusual for Zelda to tend to Robbie when he had his bouts of madness; rather, she considered it her job to look after him, just one role of a princess among many. 

He always told her when his senses returned, a pitiable smile on his face and a kiss to her forehead to assure her the older man was okay.

But just this once, she hesitated by the doorway just in time to hear a sob crack his voice, and the rest was instinct, pulling him into her arms and ensuring him all would be okay, even if she didn’t believe it and even if he said those words: “You were supposed to leave.”


	2. Lie To Me

Zelda had been asked the same question for so many years and always responded much the same, though it did take her by surprise when her most trusted confidant asked the same, painful question with his eyes full of tears: “Do you really think we can win?”

As always, Zelda assured him that “Of course we can,” though the words had long since felt hollow in her own mouth; she no longer believed the lie, but only pretended to hold onto hope because that was part of her role as a princess, to ensure her followers still held strong against the chaotic might of Malice.

She didn’t know whether or not Robbie believed her, because he pulled her into a hug and thanked her for always being there for him; Zelda prayed he didn’t notice her tear stains wetting his lab coat.


	3. Cry

Zelda tried not to cry in front of others - she tried not to cry at all - but sometimes it was all too much and she fled away to her room in the citadel away from the prying eyes of others.

Everyone always asked her the same things - if they could win this war, and if so how - and she always lied and said something inspiring to keep their hopes up, when hope had long since died in her own heart.

It was when Robbie begged her to make it all stop, hands shaking with something - Fear? Anxiety? Pain? - that it broke her and she excused herself, sobbing into her pillow to muffle her cries as she swore to herself that she’d end this suffering even if she had to sacrifice herself in the process.


	4. Hate

Not once, even in his greatest moments of despair, did Robbie blame his princess for the madness they’d been trapped in.

He most certainly didn’t hate her, though he was well aware she would never believe him no matter how many times he assured her this wasn’t her fault.

Truthfully, he hated himself for beginning to succumb to that madness and, he feared, one day leave the little princess alone.


	5. Love

With a relationship as complex as theirs, Zelda found it hard to put a label to what she had with Robbie.

He was her rock and salvation, like an older brother and a father, her confidant and most trusted friend - and there was truly no word she could think of that could encompass all of those feelings, tried and twisted over the years

Were she forced to pick a word, she’d settle with one that could mean so many different things; she’d settle with “love”.


	6. Here

By the time Zelda had heard Robbie was having another of his fits and rushed to his lab, leaving her lunch half-eaten and forgotten, the room had already been torn apart by his own hands yet again.

He sat surrounded by overturned furniture, torn papers, and broken antiques, crimson eyes rising to meet her concerned gaze as he forced himself to his feet and mumbled another apology for her having to see him like this.

She didn’t care enough to listen to the apologies, instead focusing on pulling his tall, muscular form into her trembling arms, hands rubbing gentle circles into his back as she whispered. “I’m here, I’m _here _, it’s okay,” over and over again.__


	7. Goodbye

She hung in the doorway, eyes the color of the sea filled to the brim with tears, as she watched his sleeping form for what would undoubtedly be the last time.

Though hardly a woman of science herself, the princess had done experiment after experiment in secret, and finally came to the conclusion that the powers given to her by the goddesses above could put an end to the chaotic madness Malice began five years ago, though at the cost of Zelda’s life.

She smiled sadly at Robbie, wanting to remember him in her last moments, before she turned away and set out into the night with a single trusted retainer and the word _“goodbye”_ on her lips.


	8. Secrets

It seemed keeping secrets was both a tradition of the royal family and one of the key rules a royal scientist was to follow - secrets like the futility of the war, the inevitability of the princess’s sacrifice to stand even a ghost of a chance, the steady loss of the head scientist’s mind, and whatever it was that was shared between scientist and princess in their private moments.

They never spoke about it in front of others, no doubt for fear of what others might say and the judgments passed for their impropriety and sins.

But, behind closed doors, there were no secrets, just bare body heat and stolen kisses, unspoken vows and endless devotion - and there was no need to share that with the world.


	9. Nightmare

Ever since that day five years ago, when Malice spread throughout the once great kingdom like a plague, every day had become a waking nightmare, and for none more so than Robbie.

He clutched his head in one hand as he tried to scribble notes into a worn notebook regarding the seventh iteration of the artificial hero based on the Hero of the Wild, though his growing headache made him well aware he would soon have to put this subject on hold again.

All he wanted was for this waking nightmare to come to an end; it hurt too much for him to stand strong against the madness for much longer.


End file.
